by Lindsay (link)
Genre drama/angst
Pairings Taylor/OFC
Length 10 chapters
Status Unfinished
Amongst the old hanfic cliches that I often see people complain about are stories where a brother, usually Taylor, is portrayed with an eating disorder. I don’t believe Just To Be Thin was the story that birthed this trope, but it was a well known and fairly popular one, in spite of its short, unfinished length.
Lindsay’s chapters are quite short, and her sentences are as well. Her writing is very matter of fact, which is in keeping with the sort of thoughts Taylor would have in the grips of an eating disorder. It’s clear that Lindsay has done her research, and may even have personal experience with anorexia and bulimia, but I still find it hard to connect to Taylor when his sentences are so clipped and almost bare of emotion. At other times, her references to Ana and descriptions of Taylor’s thoughts feel very, very cliche.
For most of Just To Be Thin, there’s no plot to speak of — just a string of random events one after another. By the last few chapters, a plot does start to take shape, involving Taylor going into treatment and Zac following in Taylor’s dangerous footsteps. There are hints all throughout of trouble within the family, and Taylor’s issues (especially during a brief sex scene) seem to go deeper than just his body image. Even though the writing leaves a lot to be desired, I wouldn’t have minded seeing some of these issues explored further and with just a bit more subtlety.
Review by Bethany (website)